April and Mimi are close, dear friends, who cherish one another. They brim with that effusive, frantic “girl energy” that’s so infectious. They proactively connect with members of the audience, asking so sweetly you just can’t say: “No”. They cheer, stand up, and look out for each other, no matter what. They adore each other’s company, and never run out of topics to discuss. Mimi babysits a little girl who wears Mousketeer ears, and she works in a coffee bar. There’s no doubt their friendship is authentic, though the enthusiasm comes dangerously close to the fatuous.
At the same time she’s started dating, Mimi discovers Edward Snowden, the notorious (if idealistic) whistleblower who facilitated access to the U.S. Government’s most sensitive secrets. Mimi immediately develops an atomic crush on Mr. Snowden, an antihero who sacrificed his home in America, and safety, and reputation to do what he felt was right. In short, he became a pariah. Mimi is then also faced with a moral quandary. She catches the badboy barista (that she likes) pilfering from the till. She loves the couple who own the cafe like family, as they love her. Should she report the guy, or pretend she didn’t see him?
When Mimi leaves the stage, April takes the audience into her confidence. Mimi has a serious pathology, that she’s managed to keep secret. Now, Edward Snowden takes a serious shift in tone. No more lemonade and lollipops. Throughout all of this, April supports, protects and does everything she can to spare Mimi any pain. She pays the restaurant bill behind Mimi’s back, to spare her embarrassment. April’s ignored it as best she can, but now, the question arises. If you genuinely care for someone, do you (however delicately) confront them with the truth? Even if you try to face this ordeal together, will you lose them?
Playwright Kate Cortesi presents us with a series of contradictions, that may be provocative. May be illuminating. Some playwrights create a puzzle with just enough information to set the spokes in motion. April and Mimi (like Gilbert and Sullivan’s “little maids from school”) are so giddy and gleeful it’s not always easy to take them seriously. As mentioned above our sunshine ride turns into a grim trip through a thunderstorm. Edward Snowden, a somewhat romanticized rebel, becomes a metaphor for the downside of mythology. Being an iconoclast is one thing, living the consequences is another. Perhaps, sooner or later, every devoted friendship is tested? Perhaps we must risk security, for the sake of doing right by someone who deserves our respect.
Second Thought Theatre presents Is Edward Snowden Single? playing April 4th (today) through April 8th. 3400 Blackburn St, Dallas, TX, United States, Texas 75219. (214) 897-3091. secondthoughttheatre.com